A Day with the Dolphins
by Bibliagrl
Summary: The future King Arthur is taken on another adventure--will he sink or swim?


Disclaimer: I do not own The Once and Future King, because there is no way that I could ever write that well or be famous and whatnot. But in this story I do own Luci……not that it makes a difference.  
  
  
  
  
  
It was late October, and the Wart was having a grand time. He had begun socializing with the Dog Boy again, and they were celebrating their reborn friendship by plodding through the magnificently colored fallen leaves on the ground. Cavall found the Wart again, and they were happily rolling in a great pile of leaves the castle gardener had carelessly left behind. The Wart was covered in leaves except for his head, with Cavall lying buried beside him. Arthur was licking the inside of his dog's floppy ear--and not the other way around--when Merlyn walked outside to find Arthur with his owl Archimedes perched on his shoulder. Archimedes flew off to a tree to prune the second Merlyn stopped walking.  
  
"The cleaning of dog ears by licking will eventually be regarded as disgusting and unsanitary, but I do not know why," Merlyn interjected. "Dogs lick our ears and so it is only natural that we repay them by licking theirs. After all, God made the dog's ear just as he made your nose."  
  
"Really?" the Wart asked, even though he had no idea what Merlyn was talking about. He said so only to be polite.  
  
"Of course. In fact, God may have designed a dog's ear even better! Even better than a dog's ear is a cat's, though. However, elephant ears are quite well made, and their enormous stature must really come in handy for balance. But then again, a camel's eyelids are very nice indeed. Have you ever noticed the way they close and do not allow any sand and wind to hit the eye? Quite amazing." Merlyn paused and then looked around him, as if for the first time noticing the brilliant red and gold fall leaves and the bare trees. He squinted his eyes and readjusted his eyeglasses before they fell off his nose. "By the way," he said absently, "do you remember why I came out here?"  
  
The Wart slowly left his leaf bed and walked to Merlyn. "No," he said, shaking leaves out of his hair. "Not at all. You never said."  
  
"I didn't? You are right, Wart, I did not yet tell you. However, I shall tell you.  
  
"How would you like to take a trip to the ocean? I would like to show you its magnificence. It will also be good for your lessons."  
  
Cavall jumped up from his bed in the leaves and sauntered over to the Wart as if he hadn't a single care in the world. When he reached the Wart, they looked into each other's faces and Cavall licked his friend's hand as if to give him approval for the trip.  
  
"Well, since your lessons are always fun, Merlyn, alright. Can Cavall come along?" The Wart looked down at Cavall, who was happily wagging his tail.  
  
Merlyn sighed, and took off his pointed hat, letting a cool breeze play with his long white beard and mustache. "Very well. But if he makes any trouble--just the least bit--I shall, I shall…turn him into a mushroom!"  
  
The Wart's heart sank at this. "Then maybe I shall leave him," he said dolefully.  
  
"You will do no such thing, young Wart," replied Merlyn, as he replaced his hat.  
  
"Is the ocean very far?" asked the Wart, relishing the idea of the trip. In fact, any type of lesson with Merlyn was sure to be fun. After all, he had already become a fish and hawk with his help. The Wart also loved to hear Merlyn talk. When the two conversed, Merlyn always listened to the Wart as if he were an equal, and not many years—even decades—younger. Of course, Merlyn had the tendency to ramble on and forget what the conversation was about, but he always talked about interesting subjects.  
  
Wart's tutor shook his head. "Not the Atlantic Ocean. That is actually quite close by. However, I do not wish to take you there. Now, the Pacific is very far away, and so is the Indian Ocean. The Mediterranean Sea is somewhere in the middle between there and here; however, the Gulf of Mexico is far away. Hmmm, the Arabian Sea is far away, and so is the Philippine, and the South China Sea. Now, the Shelikhova Gulf is far away, too. Where is it that I said I do not wish to take you? I believe I forgot what I told you."  
  
The Wart looked straight at Merlyn. He remembered every word his tutor had said, even if he did not understand it. "You said you did not want to take me to the Atlantic Ocean. Where is that? Why don't you want to take me there?" He was eager to go to an ocean, no matter which one.  
  
Responding immediately, Merlyn said, "I have changed my mind. I will take you to the Atlantic Ocean. It is off the coast of many countries down south, but I will take you to Portugal. Now, in order to get there we would normally walk, but that would take a very long time. I will teleport us."  
  
"What does teleport mean?" The Wart stared intently at his tutor to try and figure it out.  
  
"Well, let me show you." He put out his hand and a huge book with the word Dictionary on it suddenly appeared. Merlyn flipped through many pages and then studied the book. "Telepath…telepathy…television…oh my, I passed the word…ahh, here it is--teleport: the act of transporting an object from one place to another. Hmm, to put it simpler, I will move us with magic from here to the coast. It goes very fast.  
  
"Now, put your arms to your sides. No, not like that, Wart. To the sides of your body, not your head. That's right. Now, with one hand touch your dog's head, like that, very good. Now where is Archimedes? Archimedes, would you please come here and perch on my shoulder? Thank you. Okay, this might feel a bit odd:  
  
"Snyrlem stnemilpmoc ot yrucrem dna lliw eh yldnik tpecca siht puorg ta eht tsaoc fo eht citnalta naeco?"  
  
Immediately there was a great pop and blowing of wind, and Merlyn, the Wart, and his dog were suddenly surrounded by pale yellow sand. The Wart turned in a circle and stared in awe at the beautiful scene that lay before him. In front of him, beyond the sand, was water, shining a brilliant bluish-green for as far as his eyes could see. The bright fiery sun sparkled prettily off of the water, while in the distance, little sleek, gray figures were dancing on the surface. Behind him was a forest, with trees full of green leaves and large fruits.  
  
"Merlyn, what are those things?" the Wart asked, pointing at the dancing objects.  
  
"Those are dolphins. Common dolphins, if I am not mistaken. Would you like to become one?"  
  
The Wart's eyes gleamed with happiness. "Oh yes, can I? Will you come with me?"  
  
"Yes, this time. You need a supervisor only because you are going to be in a different world that is much more dangerous and free and not confined like when you were a hawk." Merlyn adjusted his glasses and raised his lignum vitae staff into the air, saying slowly, "Snyrlem stnemilpmoc ot enutpen dna lliw eh yldnik tpecca siht yob sa a nihplod?"  
  
The next thing the Wart knew, he was naked and in the water, or ocean, as Merlyn called it. The Wart soon had fins and a tail, and was long, sleek and gray. He pumped his tail in the water from side to side, but did not go anywhere.  
  
"Now, Wart, remember you do not swim as if you are a human, but you pump your tail up and down, not side to side as you did when you were a fish. Now, point yourself toward the surface and jump into the air, blowing out of the blowhole on your back. Then inhale and return to me."  
  
The Wart looked over at the speaker and saw Merlyn in a dolphin's body larger than his, with more white on his stomach than Wart's. He then followed his tutor's advice, and as he surfaced the Wart looked back at land. He saw his dog lying down contentedly chewing on a piece of wood, and Archimedes was sleeping in a tree in the forest.  
  
When he was again submersed in water, the Wart realized he could see better under water than above. He pushed his tail up and down, snorted gleefully when he found he could move swiftly, and followed Merlyn, who was several yards ahead of him.  
  
"That's better," Merlyn said. "Let us head toward those dolphins out there."  
  
The Wart and Merlyn swam out further into the ocean. The Wart kept admiring the sights underneath the water. There were many small fish, brightly colored and swimming in groups. There were also green grass-like things, that Merlyn called "seaweed." They had to resurface twice, because as dolphins they could not hold their breath underwater forever but had to inhale fresh air from above the ocean.  
  
The two eventually got to the place where the other dolphins were. There were about 30 dolphins, and all of them looked majestic. All the dolphins had black snouts, and most had a small patch of white on the tip of the nose. Below the nose was a mouth that looked as if it were in a perpetual grin, yet filled with a row of fifty very sharp teeth. Every dolphin had a fin on the top on the top of their body, which Merlyn called a dorsal fin, and a flipper on each side of the body. Up close the Wart could see that instead of just gray the skin had a greenish tone, and some animals had large black bands on the stomach near the tail while others had a small grayer band.  
  
"Merlyn, why do some of them have a black band and others a gray one?" the Wart asked.  
  
Merlyn replied, "The ones with the black band are males, like us, and the ones with a gray band are female."  
  
After a minute a female dolphin realized their presence and swam over to them. "Hello," she said. "My name is Luci. That is two whistles and one click."  
  
"Merlyn, what does she mean about the whistles and clicks?" the Wart whispered.  
  
"They are called name representations, which are another way to say her name," whispered back Merlyn. "Pleased to make your acquaintance," he directed at Luci. "I am Merlyn."  
  
"Yes, pleased to meet you," said Wart. "I am called the Wart."  
  
"Lovely to meet you. Don't you two have name representations? Oh well. You can't be perfect. Why don't you come with me?  
  
"By the way, not wanting to intrude, but why are you not in a group? I thought all dolphins lived in groups." Luci looked around, her small black eyes searching. She clicked, and turned back to the Wart and Merlyn. "Did you two become lost? My radar doesn't detect another group close by."  
  
Merlyn looked at the Wart, who brainstormed and quickly responded, "Yes. We became separated during a storm and have been lost for days. But we are fine, we will find them soon. You do not need to help."  
  
Luci displayed sympathy. "I am so sorry. The ocean is so large and scary that I don't know why others leave their home. I know I won't. You two must be brave. Well, it is almost time to feed. Would you like to join us while we get food? Each dolphin helps get food for the group, and the group always responds to an individual in need of saving. After all, our motto is 'One For All, and All For One!'"  
  
Merlyn wandered away for a few seconds, muttering, "So that is where he got it. No wonder that phrase was familiar. A long time ago I must have seen Alexander Dumas and mentioned a variation of that. Of course. How could I have forgotten?..." He then swam back to the Wart. "Do you know what is 'One For All, and All For One' teaches?" he whispered to his student. The Wart shook his head.  
  
"Now, Wart," said Luci, "Lets go feed. Our range is roughly three miles in every direction from that jutting rock over there." Luci flicked her tail in a general direction toward a large rock. "When we feed, each adult is expected to catch at least one squid or mackerel. After all, we need to eat before we can play. You got that? Lets go!"  
  
While Luci swam off, Merlyn showed the Wart how to click and use radar to find food, for he had been a dolphin before. When that was completed, they both swam off in search of squid. The next hour found the Wart happily chasing a squid that ejected a black ink every few seconds. He managed to catch it just as Luci and another female dolphin swam up, each with a small mackerel in her teeth. "Come on boy, drop your squid," the other dolphin cried, dropping hers. "That young dolphin over there is drowning! Come on!"  
  
Over the next few minutes the Wart and several other dolphins helped save a young dolphin whose blowhole had temporarily malfunctioned by pushing him to the surface so air could enter his blowhole. After the youngster had recovered, he helped catch many squids for the group in return.  
  
After all the dolphins ate, the Wart noticed many dolphins pair off and skim the surface, mimicking each other and swimming in synchronized actions. The rest of the dolphins separated into two large groups. The Wart sought out Luci, who was watching over some of the infant dolphins. "Why are there two separate groups?" he asked.  
  
Luci looked surprised. "Don't you remember," she said. "Usually, females and males are separate and have our own different discussions in different groups. Let's go swimming together."  
  
The Wart and Luci swam up to the surface while Merlyn was occupied talking to an elderly dolphin. Since the Wart didn't know what to do, he copied Luci's actions. They twirled together and dove in and out of the ocean together. A few times Luci rubbed her snout against the Wart's, and nudged him as if to tell him to keep swimming. It was dusk when they returned to Merlyn.  
  
"Now that we swam together like that we are mates, Wart. It's the ritual." Luci drew closer and closer to the Wart, the perpetual grin on her face turning more and more into a friendly smile.  
  
Wart started to reply but before he could Merlyn swam in between the two with a flick of his tail. "I'm sorry, Luci, with the 2 whistles and 1 click, but we really must be off to search for our group. The Wart already has a mate in our group. Thank you very much for your groups' hospitality. May luck shine upon you. Good bye." Merlyn then led the Wart away from the group and back to shore.  
  
The Wart then said to Merlyn as they swam away, "I do not have a mate, but would have liked to have found out what might have happened between Luci and me."  
  
"Wart, had I not separated you, we never would have left because you would be a part of their group. This was for the better."  
  
When they arrived at shore, Merlyn changed himself and the Wart back into humans. A happy Cavall jumped onto the Wart and they began licking each other and playing.  
  
"Merlyn," the Wart said. "I think I understand 'One For All, and All For One.' If one person helps a whole group and that group helps individuals in it, you can function quite nicely. There has to be some drawbacks, though. What if a person doesn't want to share, or can't for some reason?"  
  
"That is true, Wart. There are times when that will happen. I believe you have learned from today's lesson. Now, Archimedes, Arthur, Cavall, we must get back to the castle. We will teleport back just like before. Come along."  
  
  
  
  
  
By the way, this story was written for school, so don't ask why I chose to do this. But I really liked this story and not just because it was the longest in the class (double-spaced, it was 10 pages). I thought someone else might wonder where else King Arthur learned his ways…and im sorry, but I liked the dog Cavall. 


End file.
